Lessons I’ve learned from my Mother

This is my Mom.  She’s pretty INCREDIBLE!!!

With Mother’s Day just a few days away, I thought I’d dedicate today’s post to that special lady in my life… My Momma!!  She is a wonderful woman who is kind and would do anything for anyone.  I could go on and on… AND ON, about how much she means to me and how amazing I think she is but instead I’m taking a different route.  I’m going to share a few of the life lessons she has taught me.  There have been so many it was hard choosing but here are a few of my favorites…

 Life isn’t fair:

Actually it goes something like… “No one said life was fair”!

You know, those moments when your sister’s ice cream cone obviously has more ice cream on it.  That’s right… “No one said life was fair”!  And Mom, you are right.  Life isn’t always fair.  You have to take what you are given and make the most of it.  Skimpy ice cream cones are a juvenile example but those moments did prep me for the unfairness I have been faced with in life.  When those things happen I think of my Mom.  “Thank you Mom!”  You have taught me to appreciate the hand I’m dealt and to play it the best I can!

Ain’t, ain’t a word:

Okay, I know this is a bit controversial.  Some use it. Some don’t.  It’s even in the dictionary,( although as I type this the little red grammar line IS dancing underneath it).  This lesson really isn’t about the word “ain’t”, which I personally don’t use, but about proper grammar.  My mom is the Grammar Queen!  She knows exactly what word to use when, how it’s spelt, and where the semicolon goes… EVERY TIME!  In fact, I know she can’t help herself.  She is currently, critiquing, my writing, use of language, and I’m sure, my comma use are driving her, ca-ray-zee!  HAHA… YES MOM, I know it’s “is driving her crazy” not “are driving her crazy”… Just messing with ya! 😉  And even though you do use the word “YOUSE” as in “YOUSE GUYS” (which I find questionable) you really have helped me improve my language and grammar.  Now, I know it’s not perfect but it has come a LONG way.  You’ll vouch for that, right??

You mean “so-and-so” and I:

This goes hand-in-hand with the lesson above, but THIS one may just be the phrase I have heard most often.  I’d be mid story and excitedly telling my Mom about some crazy thing me and Tiffany did and she would interrupt with… “you mean Tiffany and I”!  At first it was just plain annoying… rude, even.  However, after hearing “you mean so-and-so and I” a few thousand times, it finally clicked, if I just say it correctly the first time I won’t have to pause and listen to a mini grammar lesson.  Well mom, it worked and maybe a little too well because now I’M the grammar police.  It’s like I’m programmed to rid the world of the “… and me” pandemic.   Thanks Mom (said in a slightly sarcastic tone)!  😉

Never say you can’t… YOU CAN!

I was one of those “I can’t do it” kids.  When something was too difficult I didn’t want to try.  It was “too hard” and I just couldn’t do it.  My Mom would tell me, “Never say you can’t… YOU CAN!”  Well she was right, yet again! (Don’t you hate that?)  I still catch myself saying “I can’t” but now I know that, really, “I CAN”!  I just have to try harder. Now, don’t get me wrong, sometimes I just don’t feel like working any harder to accomplish something, but that’s different.  I know that it’s not that I CAN’T it’s that I just don’t want to bad enough!

I didn’t think I’d EVER be able to drive. “I CAN’T DO IT”!  I didn’t think I could ever make it through college.  There were plenty of “I CAN’T DO IT” days.  After earning my bachelor’s degree (with honors) I realized… I COULD DO IT!  I CAN DO ANYTHING!

Thank you Mom, for helping me see that I am capable of anything.  You were always there to encourage me and keep me going.

Chores are why Moms have kids:

It would be my day for dishes and the sink would be over-flowing.  My day for trash and I’d have to drag the cans to the curb.  I’d tell whine to my Mom that I didn’t want to do it and I’d get, “tough, why do you think we had you?”

Okay, maybe her approach wasn’t the most straight-forward.  Some may even think it a little rough around the edges but I knew what she meant.  She didn’t REALLY mean she had us just to do chores.  Okay, some days I’d swear she did!  To be honest though, we didn’t really have too many chores to do.  I was just an ungrateful brat who wanted to be waited on.  My mom just wanted to teach us some responsibility.  To have us pull our weight around the house.  To be thankful for what we had and not take everything for granted.  I think it took me much too long to learn this lesson (SORRY MOM!) but I am older now… some may even say a little more mature 😉 and I appreciate the things people do for me, and yes, even those things my Mom had us do.  In my opinion, she could’ve been a little harder on us (shhh, don’t tell her that).  But because of her and her “why do you think I had you?” line, I appreciate what I have and more importantly, when people do things for me.

…………..

Mom,

You have taught me so much more than I could possibly ever write or thank you for.  I think you are an amazing mother and if I can be half the mom to my kids as you are to me, it would make me proud.  It’s funny because growing up you don’t really realize all of the little lessons your parents teach you but really, they are who you have to thank for EVERYTHING!  Mom, I am thankful for you every day.  Especially in those moments when I catch myself saying something to Hadley and it stops me in my tracks. I ask myself “Where did THAT come from”… then it dawns on me… “OH MY, I am turning into my mother”!!  Which I’ll have to admit is a WONDERFUL thing!!!!

I love you Mom!  Happy Mother’s Day!!!

Xx

Heather